Francis Smith (British Army Officer) - Legacy

Legacy

Smith is largely remembered for his role in the fighting at Lexington and Concord. Perceptions of him have altered over time as the battles have been re-examined - moving away from initial portrayals that tended to paint him and his officers having deliberately set out with the intention of killing colonial militia. While the first reports of the fight were the catalyst for the outbreak of the war, tipping a number of colonies into open rebellion, its importance as a historical event only really grew in significance in the century after American independence was granted by the 1783 Peace of Paris.

The narrative of the fight on Lexington Green gradually changed from one of an unprovoked massacre of loyal citizens by the redcoats, into a more even-handed and inevitable clash between the two forces which was the inescapable consequence of an American desire for nationhood. This new perception, which reached its height in the late nineteenth century, came from a changing desire in the United States to present a more self-confident creation of the country. Since the Second World War, many accounts have disregarded this interpretation, and emphasised the more ambiguous nature of the situation in Massachusetts in Spring 1775 when the colonists still considered themselves British and very few advocated outright independence. More recent studies have often focused on the hesitation of both regular and militia officers to open fire, and the clear orders put out by both sides to avoid engagements.

Considerable confusion still remains about what exactly happened at Lexington Green when the British regulars and militiamen drew up opposite each other with a number of different versions of who fired the first shot advanced by various accounts and historians. Whoever fired first, Smith and Pitcairn have generally been criticised for poor handling of their troops.

While Smith has often been attacked for his decisions, he has also been praised for bringing his column through repeated ambushes during the retreat from Concord to the safety of Percy's reinforcements without entirely disintegrating. John Galvin who wrote a history of the Lexington and Concord fighting, observed that "Smith, unfortunately, could match this steadiness with an equal slowness and lack of imagination, a fact that has received more than enough attention over the years, perhaps obscuring his coolness and courage".